Chapter Text
April 13, 2013
Day 9
Maizono yawns as she feels herself slowly starting to wake up.
‘That was… a great dream,’ she thinks to herself.
She had spent a whole day with Makoto, and they had actually been outside of the school! They went to the mall, they went to the movies and accidentally touched each others’ hands while trying to eat some popcorn, they had a nice, romantic dinner together, and then they went home and made out with each-
‘N-NO! Bad Sayaka! You’re in a killing game! You need to focus!’
Maizono blushes from her thoughts… but then she realizes something.
She woke up before Makoto for once. And… he’s even cuter when he’s sleeping!
She wishes she could take a photo of him like this… maybe Monokuma put some cameras in the warehouse?
DING DONG BING BONG
“Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 A.M. and nighttime is officially over! Time to greet another beee-yutiful day!”
DING DONG BING BONG
Oh, come on! Why does that bear always have to ruin everything?
Makoto slowly stirs, his eyes fluttering open. “S-Sayaka? You’re… already awake?”
“Yeah, I am!” Maizono says softly. “I managed to wake up before you!… you’re really cute when you’re sleeping, by the way.”
“That’s- h-huh!? Um, t-thank you?” Makoto stutters as he blushes.
Maizono giggles. “Of course, Makoto!”
After a few seconds of silence, Makoto speaks up again. “We, um, should probably get to the dining hall… Ishimaru-kun might drag us out there if we don’t.”
“You’re probably right,” Maizono says unhappily, letting go of Makoto.
“At least Monokuma didn’t call us down to the gym, right?” Makoto points out as he gets out of his bed.
“Oh, you’re right! He didn’t,” Maizono realizes. “Hopefully that’s a good sign for today, then!”
After a few minutes of getting ready, the two of them leave the room and make their way to the dining hall.
“Oh, Naegi! Maizono-chan! Good morning!” Asahina says as the two of them enter the dining hall.
“Good morning, Asahina-san!” Maizono responds happily.
“Hey, Asahina-san!” Makoto also says. “Is everyone here yet?”
“Not yet,” Enoshima answers. “Togami and Ishimaru aren’t here.”
“I would wager that Ishimaru-kun is attempting to get His Royal Highness to show up,” Celeste says.
“I’m sure that they’ll be here soon,” Ogami says.
“Oh, I could care less about them showing up,” Celeste clarifies, “but there is another, much more serious issue at the moment.”
“An issue? What is it, Celeste?” Makoto asks.
“I am thirsty,” Celeste says.
“…how the hell is that a ‘serious issue?’” Owada asks in confusion.
“Does anyone here know how to make tea?” Celeste asks.
“Um… maybe?” Makoto hesitantly says. “My sister tried to teach me once, and it didn’t turn out too bad?”
“I’m sure you’ll do fine. Milk tea, please,” Celeste requests.
“…sorry, Celeste, but, um…” Makoto stutters.
“What is it?” Celeste asks.
“Komaru didn’t really teach me how to make milk tea…” Makoto admits.
“Hmm… no worries, then,” Celeste replies. “Kuwata-kun. Make me some milk tea, if you will.”
“Huh? Why me?” Kuwata asks, looking confused.
“You’re the first person I saw,” Celeste explains, “and my throat is drying out. Quickly, please.”
“Hey, wait a second! I’m not just gonna…” Kuwata trails off. “Actually… sure! Why not? One milk tea, coming right up!”
Kuwata walks into the kitchen as the rest of the students (minus Celeste) stare at him.
“…why did he switch up so quickly?” Fujisaki asks.
“It’s just a boy thing. Don’t worry about it,” Enoshima explains.
“Boy thing?” Makoto echos.
“…with a few exceptions,” Enoshima adds after a short pause.
Maizono’s pretty sure that Makoto’s the exception that Enoshima’s talking about. And she completely agrees! But…
Maizono narrows her eyes. Enoshima has been saying a lot of really nice things about Makoto lately…
‘Calm down, Sayaka! Not every compliment is a sign of romantic interest!’
She’s probably just being nice. Makoto did save her from being murdered by Monokuma, after all.
“I’ve returned with your milk tea!” Kuwata exclaims as he exits the kitchen with some tea.
“Merci beaucoup, Kuwata-kun,” Celeste says as she takes the cup of tea from Kuwata.
“Y-you could’ve made s-some for the r-rest of us, you know,” Fukawa mutters.
Celeste smiles slightly as she brings the tea up to her lips and takes a small sip.
“Well? Did I do a good job?” Kuwata asks.
Celeste remains silent… and then she suddenly throws the cup at the wall.
Fujisaki and Makoto jumps at the sound of the cup shattering, and several of the other students back away, Maizono included.
“I DESPISE this kind of tea!” Celeste says fiercely.
“H-huh!?” Kuwata vocalizes in shock as he backs away.
“Imagine, if you will, that we are at a normal café,” Celeste begins. “I sit down, and I order some tea. The barista would then ask me, ‘would you like lemon, or milk with your tea?’ Now, imagine that I then respond ‘I would like the milk tea, please.’ In that case, they would bring me a small container of milk along with my tea, oui?”
Kuwata looks a little scared. It’s kinda funny, to be honest… “I mean, y-yeah, but-“
“But that is not what I desire!” Celeste cuts him off. “I am among those who prefer the milk to be added from the beginning of the process! It significantly improves the fragrance of the tea. Waiting to add the milk right before you drink it is like slathering your fries in ketchup- it turns the milk into a mere condiment! Before I even set foot into a cafe, I review their menu to ensure that they prepare milk tea in the correct manner. If they do not, then I will never so much as even consider going near such a wretched establishment!”
…
Did Celeste actually just go on a rant about milk tea?
The rest of the students look just as shocked and confused as Maizono feels.
“…I’m sorry?” Kuwata hesitantly says. “Couldn’t you have just, I don’t know… drank what I gave you?”
“Did you listen to a single word that I just said?” Celeste asks.
“Y-yeah, I did,” Kuwata confirms, “but I just don’t understand-“
“HURRY UP AND BRING ME WHAT I ASKED FOR, YOU WORTHLESS SWINE!” Celeste abruptly screams, her accent suddenly gone.
“J-j-jeez, fine!” Kuwata exclaims as he flees into the kitchen.
“Fufufu. I am quite fond of coercion,” Celeste says with a small smile, her accent having returned.
“What was that? You were like… a totally different person, or something…” Asahina says in surprise.
“Swimmer girl’s right,” Owada adds. “You went completely psycho there…”
Celeste just smiles to herself.
“…remind me to keep you far away from Celeste,” Maizono whispers to Makoto.
“U-um, that might be a good idea,” Makoto agrees.
Just as Makoto finishes speaking, the doors to the dining hall are thrown open by Ishimaru, who runs in.
“Everyone! There is a mystery afoot!” Ishimaru shouts.
“A mystery, Ishimaru-kun? What is it?” Makoto asks.
“Togami-kun doesn’t seem to want to leave his room,” Ishimaru explains. “I spent many minutes pressing his door bell, but no one answered!”
“Maybe he just wasn’t there, hall monitor,” Owada suggests. “Seems pretty simple to me…”
“Perhaps, but…” Ishimaru trails off. “I’m worried that something might’ve happened to him.”
Immediately, the mood in the room shifts to apprehension and fear.
“Maybe… we should all go look for him, then,” Makoto suggests.
“Great idea, Naegi-kun! I was just about to suggest that myself!” Ishimaru exclaims.
“I’ll go check his room again,” Asahina decides. “I’ll keep hammering his door bell until he answers!”
“The rest of us should examine the other parts of the school, in that case,” Ogami adds.
“Alright! Let’s go!” Ishimaru shouts as he runs out of the room, with most of the other students following… except for Celeste.
“Celeste… aren’t you going to help us look for Togami-kun?” Makoto asks.
“I haven’t had my tea yet,” Celeste says.
“…what?” “Huh?” Makoto and Maizono vocalize at the same time.
“My throat is still dry,” Celeste explains, “and so I have no desire to do anything until my thirst has been quenched. Feel free to motivate Kuwata to go faster, if you want me to help.”
“Um… okay, then,” Makoto says hesitantly. “Let’s go, Maizono-san…”
“Oh, okay!” Maizono says, putting on a cheerful guise. In reality, though…
If Togami is missing, then someone might’ve… killed him. And if that’s true…
Then they’ll have to play the game again… and someone else will be executed, just like Yamada was…
Maizono is snapped out of her thoughts by Kuwata’s voice. “Togami’s missing? That’s… not great,” Kuwata says as he prepares a cup of tea. Makoto must’ve told him what was going on while she was… thinking to herself.
“Yeah… we’re all going to look for him right now,” Makoto explains.
“That’s probably a good idea,” Kuwata agrees. “I’ll help as soon as I finish this cup of tea, okay? I can’t imagine what Celeste would do to me if I didn’t…”
Did… did Kuwata actually just shiver? This is hilarious…
Wait. What if she and Enoshima locked him in a room with Celeste the next time that he acts up? Now that would be funny!
“Okay! Me and Maizono-san are going to start looking now, though,” Makoto says. “Bye, Kuwata-kun!”
“Bye, you two!” Kuwata responds.
The two of them leave the kitchen and walk until they reach the dining hall’s doors.
“So… where do you think Togami-kun would be, Naegi-kun?” Maizono asks.
“Hmm… maybe he’s checking out the second floor again?” Makoto suggests. “He seemed pretty interested in the library yesterday, right?”
“Oh yeah, he did!” Maizono agrees. “Alright, let’s go!”
The two of them quickly make their way to the second floor of the school, finding Kirigiri outside of the library. “So you two thought to come here, too,” she notes.
“Yeah, we did,” Maizono confirms.
“Well, let’s see if we were right,” Kirigiri says as she opens the door to the library and walks in.
Maizono grabs Makoto’s hand, just in case Togami really is… dead.
As the two of them walk into the room, Makoto cries out in surprise. “Togami-kun!?”
“Just as I suspected,” Kirigiri says to herself.
“Um, Togami-kun… what are you doing?” Makoto asks.
“I’m fishing. What does it look like I’m doing?” Togami says rudely. “I’m trying to read. So, be quiet.”
“Hey! Don’t speak that way to Naegi-kun!” Maizono yells angrily.
“Oh, sorry… w-wait, no! Why are you up here? We were all really worried about you!” Makoto exclaims.
“Why would you be worried about me?” Togami asks.
“Because we all agreed to meet up for breakfast in the morning every day, remember?” Maizono replies pointedly.
Togami sighs and closes his book. “Can’t I get a moment of silence in this prison?…”
As Togami stands up, the other students run into the library.
“Togami-kun! So this is where you disappeared to!” Ishimaru exclaims.
“We were all concerned about you,” Ogami remarks.
“Well, you didn’t have to be,” Togami responds. “I was just reading. Normally I wouldn’t even touch a mystery novel… but I thought that it might be useful.”
“Mystery novel?” Asahina echos. “Wait, so…”
“Are you seriously reading up on ways to betray us?” Enoshima asks, clenching her fists.
“Don’t be stupid,” Togami says.
“Yeah, see?” Makoto says with a smile. “Togami-kun wouldn’t betray us-“
“If I decide to kill, I’ll come up with something original,” Togami cuts him off. “Otherwise, this game would just be boring for all of us. To make it worthwhile, we need to give it our all and make it entertaining.”
“W-what?” Makoto says in shock, backing away.
“Do you seriously think this is a game!?” Owada asks angrily. “You’re fucked in the head!”
“I don’t think that it’s a game, I know that it’s a game,” Togami says confidently. “Monokuma made that abundantly clear.”
“Togami-kun is partially right,” Celeste says as she sips her tea. Kuwata must’ve finished making it while they were looking for Togami, then. “This is a zero-sum game, to be exact.”
“Zero sum game?” Asahina echos.
“It is a part of game theory,” Celeste explains. “In a zero-sum game, in order for someone to gain something, the other participants must lose something. In other words, the participants must compete with each other for positions or resources.”
“So… it’s like an elimination match,” Ogami realizes.
“You are correct,” Celeste confirms. “Most social interactions in the real world fall into this category… and so does our life here at Hope’s Peak Academy. For one of us to win and leave, we must become the Blackened and deceive everyone else.”
“Exactly. I’m glad that someone understands our situation,” Togami says. “Monokuma designed this game to force us to compete with each other, and to force one of us to defeat the others.”
“That’s… that’s wrong! We don’t have to play his game at all!” Makoto exclaims.
“That is why adaptation is so crucial,” Celeste says. “If we all give up on escaping and simply adapt to the situation, then we all have no reason to play the game. Hagakure and Yamada did not adapt, and so they played the game… and then they died.”
“Why would I want to stop playing the game, though?” Togami asks with a smirk. “It’s just so much fun…”
Did… he just say fun? Does he actually think this nightmare is fun?
Maizono clenches her fists.
“It seems like you haven’t acknowledged the possibility that you might lose, oui?” Celeste says with amusement.
“Of course I haven’t,” Togami replies.
“How interesting… I didn’t expect anything else from a member of the Togami family,” Celeste remarks after another sip of her tea.
“You can talk like that as much as you want,” Asahina says angrily, “but what if you end up dead?”
“I won’t,” Togami says, although it sounds more like a decree than a simple response. “It just isn’t possible.”
“It isn’t possible?” Maizono echos. How is he so… so arrogant?
“Are you serious!?” Enoshima exclaims.
“Who the fuck do you think you are!?” Owada shouts.
“You know, I find it hard to believe that you two are still here,” Togami remarks.
“What?” Enoshima hisses, her eyes narrowing.
“What did you just say!?” Owada demands, cracking his knuckles.
“I find it utterly incomprehensible that two completely brain-dead, piece-of-trash peasants such as yourself have managed to survive this long,” Togami clarifies.
“I know at least thirteen ways to kill you with my bare hands,” Enoshima says quietly, her nails digging into the skin of her hands.
“I’M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!” Owada roars.
“You won’t. Like I said, it just isn’t possible,” Togami repeats.
“You… how are you like this!?” Asahina asks angrily.
“I wouldn’t bother with trying to argue with him,” Celeste speaks up after another sip of tea. “He is the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, after all. ‘Losing’ as a potential outcome for him is incomprehensible, because he has been raised to succeed since the day he was born. To him, his destiny is victory. Everything is just a stepping stone to his glorious future, including this game.”
“You seem to have quite the understanding, Celeste,” Togami notes. “These other peasants could learn a thing or two from you.”
“Of course. I am just like you, after all,” Celeste responds. “Games are meant to be won.”
“Now you’re pushing it,” Togami says with disgust. “We are not on the same level, and we will never be on the same level. Shut your disgusting mouth.”
“Now, now. There’s no need to lash out,” Celeste says with a hand to her mouth. “I do apologize.”
“Anyways, I have one last thing to say to all of you,” Togami says, his gaze roaming over the other students. “If any of you give up on empty platitudes and decide to play the game as well, do better than Yamada did. I want a challenge, not a cakewalk.”
“That’s… a t-terrible way of l-looking at it,” Fujisaki says quietly.
“What was that?” Togami demands, turning towards her.
“N-Naegi-kun is right!” Fujisaki says a little more forcefully. “W-we don’t have to p-play Monokuma’s game, at all! If we all w-work together, then we won’t need to k-kill our friends!”
“Who said that we were friends?” Togami asks. “Did you listen to a word that I said? We aren’t friends. We’re competitors, we’re enemies.”
“B-but…” Fujisaki trails off.
“But what? If you have something to say, then say it,” Togami rudely demands. “If you don’t, then keep your peasant mouth shut and listen to your superior.”
“…s-sorry,” Fujisaki says with tears in her eyes.
“Don’t apologize to him,” Enoshima says angrily. “He doesn’t deserve it.”
“Oh, so you get off on bullying weaklings, do you!?” Owada shouts. “Try that with someone your own size, asshole!”
“I’d rather not,” Togami says. “In fact… maybe I’ll target her once I finally decide to play the game.”
“W-what!?” Fujisaki exclaims, her eyes wide.
Did he seriously just…
“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Maizono demands.
“S-Sayaka?” Makoto whispers. “Please stay calm, okay?”
“Try that and see what happens,” Enoshima says as she puts herself between Fujisaki and Togami.
“Did you not hear him!?” Maizono exclaims. “He’s disgusting! God, someone needs to teach him a lesson!”
“You… I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!” Owada roars.
Owada rushes forward with his fist outstretched. Togami, the arrogant prick, just stands there with a smirk. For a second, it looks like Owada might actually hit Togami…
But then Ogami rapidly rushes forward and holds Owada back. “LET GO OF ME! I WANT HIM TO BLEED!”
“Calm yourself!” Ogami shouts. “This is exactly what Monokuma wants us to do!”
“I DON’T CARE! LET GO OF ME!” Owada roars.
“O-Owada! You need to calm down!” Kuwata exclaims.
Togami is still smirking. How?
“LET ME AT HIM!” Owada roars again, struggling against Ogami.
“OWADA! You’re scaring Fujisaki-san!” Enoshima shouts.
“LET ME- h-huh?” Owada cut himself off, slowly looking over at Fujisaki…
Fujisaki is on her knees with her face in her hands, sobbing. “P-please… s-stop, all of y-you…”
The library falls silent. Owada stops struggling, and Ogami releases him after a few seconds.
“Anyways, I have zero intention of working with the rest of you anymore,” Togami states. “To work together during an elimination game… it’s incredibly counterintuitive. So don’t bother to look for me when I don’t come to your little breakfasts anymore.”
Makoto looks conflicted. “…Togami-kun-“
“Don’t waste your breath,” Togami cuts him off. “I’ve already made my decision, and it’s clear that the majority of you don’t want me here, either.”
“…get out of here, you bastard,” Owada mutters.
“Gladly,” Togami says as he leaves the library.
“…y-you know, he had a p-point,” Fukawa speaks up a few moments later.
“Oh, come on! Not you too, Fukawa-chan!” Asahina exclaims unhappily.
“O-oh, don’t even p-pretend that you d-don’t want me gone!” Fukawa exclaims. “Y-you all think that I’m s-so disgusting, d-don’t you!?”
“N-no one thinks that, Fukawa-san!” Makoto tries to reassure her.
“Y-you’re lying! You d-despise me!” Fukawa screams. “Y-you all despise me! Y-you all want to k-kill me, don’t you!? W-well, I w-won’t let you!”
Fukawa dashes out of the room, shouting about her paranoid delusions.
“Fukawa-san, wait!” Makoto shouts after her as she leaves.
“I… don’t think that’s going to help, Naegi-kun…” Maizono says.
“I just… why is this happening? I thought that everyone was doing okay…” Makoto says quietly.
Maizono looks with worry at Makoto as students begin to leave the library. Kuwata with Owada, Enoshima with Fujisaki, Asahina with Ogami, the others by themselves…
“…Makoto? I think we should get breakfast,” Maizono suggests after a few seconds.
“Huh? Oh, that’s, um, p-probably a good idea,” Makoto agrees.
As the two of them leave the library, Maizono thinks to herself.
Togami and Fukawa… they’re separating themselves from everyone else. And Togami is getting on the nerves of a lot of people, like Owada, Enoshima, even herself to a lesser extent…
Maizono sighs. It’ll be okay, though. Makoto’s by her side, so at least she isn’t alone.
But will they be able to keep everyone else together, like Makoto wants?
…
…anyways, they should just focus on getting breakfast right now. They can worry about the others later.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Ugh! I’m so bored, Makoto!” Sayaka exclaims.
“Yeah… there isn’t really a lot to do in this school, is there?” Naegi responds.
After the two of them had breakfast together, they decided to walk around the school for a little while. They’ve talked to a few people, but everyone seems to be a little on-edge after what happened with Togami earlier.
Togami…
Naegi doesn’t know what to do. Ever since Hagakure and Yamada… died, it feels like the entire school has been covered by a thick blanket of tension, which only got worse after Togami officially separated himself from the rest of the group, with Fukawa following him shortly after.
If things keep up like this, then… it might end up happening again…
N-no! He needs to stay optimistic. As long as everyone else sticks together and refuses to play Monokuma’s game, then no more killings will happen!
The only question is… how can he help keep everyone together in the first place?
“Do you think that Monokuma put any board games in the storage room?” Sayaka asks, snapping Naegi out of his thoughts.
“Um… maybe?” Naegi says.
“We should go check, then!” Sayaka says as the two of them walk around a corner, coming face-to-face with…
“Oh! Hey, guys!” Asahina says cheerfully. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you two!”
“Hi, Asahina-san! You were? How come?” Naegi asks.
“Well, remember how we all talked about wanting to go swimming yesterday?” Asahina asks. “We should do that right now! I decided to invite all of the girls, and Naegi too, since Maizono-chan and Enoshima-chan wanted you to come!”
“Ooh, that’s a great idea!” Sayaka exclaims. “Wait, but… do we have any swimsuits?”
“Yeah, we do!” Asahina confirms. “Sakura-chan found two boxes full of swimsuits in the storage room, one for the boys and one for the girls!”
“Oh, okay!” Sayaka says happily. “Me and Naegi-kun will be there soon!”
“Great! I’ll be down there waiting, so don’t take too long!” Asahina yells as she runs away.
“Are you fine with that, Makoto?” Sayaka asks him.
“Sure, if you want to!” Naegi says.
“Okay! Let’s go, then!” Sayaka says as the two of them start walking towards the pool.
As the two of them enter the initial pool room, they find two boxes on the floor… and Monokuma standing in the corner of the room.
“Monokuma? Um… what are you doing here?” Naegi asks.
“…listen very carefully to me, Naegi-kun,” Monokuma says emotionlessly. “Five girls and one boy are about to spend time with each other, only dressed in swimwear, and at least three, maybe four, of those girls are attracted to you. Do you know what you’re walking into, Naegi-kun? You don’t. If you value your innocence… then turn around now.”
“Innocence? What are you talking about?” Naegi asks in confusion.
“J-just ignore him, Makoto. Don’t take too long changing, okay? I’ll be waiting~!” Maizono says as she picks up one of the boxes and walks into the girls’ locker room.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Naegi-kun,” Monokuma says ominously before he disappears into the depths of the school.
…
Naegi decides to ignore whatever that was and looks at the other box, which has a note on it.
CLASS 78TH BOYS’ SWIMSUITS
Property of Hope’s Peak Academy
Class 78th? Is that their class number? Wait, now that he thinks about it… that was what his invitation to the school said. He was invited as the Ultimate Lucky Student of Class 78th.
Wait, but… if the school had already closed, then did the Mastermind send him that letter? Was his whole invitation to Hope’s Peak just a lie? That’s…
N-never mind that. Sayaka’s waiting for him!
Naegi picks up the box and walks into the boys’ locker room. After opening the box (which was really dusty for some reason), he finds a pile of swimsuit trunks, each with a different name on them. Did the school really get swimsuits for them before the school year even started? Or… did the Mastermind get these for them?
Naegi shivers and decides to just change into his swimsuit.
After changing, he sets his clothes and the box of swimsuits on one of the benches, and enters the main pool room.
“Naegi-kun! Over here!” Sayaka shouts to him from the side of the pool.
“Hey, Sayaka! I’m… here…” Naegi trails off when he reaches her. Sayaka’s dressed in her swimsuit (obviously! They’re at the pool, aren’t they?), and… um…
W-wow. Sayaka is r-really attractive…
“So, Makoto? I have a question for you. How does my swimsuit look?“ Sayaka asks as she does a little twirl.
“U-um… it l-looks g-great!” Naegi stutters, his face a deep shade of red. “I-I mean, um, it f-fits you! W-wait, um, that d-didn’t s-sound right-“
“Looks like someone’s a little flustered,” Enoshima says with a smirk as she walks over. (Oh n-no… Enoshima’s really attractive, too!) “You know, I didn’t expect you to be so fit yourself, Naegi-kun!”
“U-um, I… t-thank you?” Naegi manages to say.
“Oh wow, Enoshima-san’s completely right, Naegi-kun!” Sayaka agrees. “You have more muscle than I expected from you.”
“Yeah, he looks pretty carnivorous for a herbivore boy!” Enoshima says in a tone that Naegi can’t quite place. “You should really take your shirt off more often, Naegi-kun.”
“Wha- I- h-huh!?” Naegi vocalizes in a mixture of shock, embarrassment, and confusion.
“Don’t say things like that, Enoshima-san!” Maizono playfully tells her off. “Naegi-kun’s body is for my eyes- I m-mean, he can’t expose himself like this when he’s not swimming!”
“I don’t know…” Enoshima says, looking thoughtful. “I’m sure that the girls wouldn’t have any desire to kill if Naegi-kun showed himself off more often…”
N-no desire to kill!? Huh!?
W-what is going on!?
“Oh, I didn’t think of that!” Sayaka exclaims. “But… no. I can’t just let him walk around like that! I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else!”
“Oh, that’s true,” Enoshima nods seriously. “It would be pretty bad if we lost a class trial because we were all focused on Naegi-kun instead of figuring out who the killer was.”
“Exactly! He’s just too distracting like this!” Maizono says. “In fact… I think we should make a new rule, like Celeste did with the nighttime rule: ‘Naegi Makoto can only undress himself around Maizono Sayaka and Enoshima Junko.’”
U-um…
Is this some sort of dream? Because… how else would Maizono Sayaka and Enoshima Junko, two of the most famous girls in the nation, be fawning over him, a completely average guy, like this!?
“It’s because you’re really cute, Naegi-kun!” Sayaka responds.
“H-huh!? D-did you just read my mind!?” Naegi asks in shock.
“Did you really forget, Naegi-kun? I’m psychic!” Sayaka says with a wide smile.
“…aren’t you g-going to say that it’s just good intuition?” Naegi asks after Sayaka doesn’t speak for a few moments.
“What would you do if I really was psychic?” Sayaka asks.
“Um…” Naegi vocalizes in confusion.
“You don’t need to worry, though!” Sayaka continues. “Even if you’re thinking impure thoughts about me, I wouldn’t mind!”
“M-MAIZONO-SAN!?” Naegi jumps back in shock, accidentally slips on a wet spot on the floor, and falls into the pool.
After the disorientation of falling into the pool wears off, Naegi swims back up to the surface. As he resurfaces, he sees Sayaka and Enoshima laughing so hard that they’re falling on the floor.
“O-oh my God, N-Naegi-kun! That was hilarious!” Sayaka says between fits of laughter.
“What h-happened to being the Ultimate L-Lucky Student?” Enoshima asks while she laughs herself.
“Hey, Naegi! That was a good dive for a beginner, but it definitely could use some work!” Asahina calls out from another part of the pool.
Kirigiri walks by the pool, takes one look at the situation, and turns to Celeste (who… is dressed completely normally, for some reason?), who was watching everything from the side while sipping a cup of tea. “…what happened here?”
“Naegi-kun spent a good five minutes failing to notice that he was being flirted with and then accidentally fell into the pool when Maizono-san told him, and I quote, ‘if you’re thinking impure thoughts about me, I wouldn’t mind,’” Celeste explains.
“…sounds about right,” Kirigiri responds.
Naegi climbs out of the pool and walks back over to Sayaka and Enoshima, who have finally stopped laughing.
“You’re amazing, Naegi-kun,” Sayaka says as she wipes a tear from her eyes.
“Seriously,” Enoshima says with a genuine smile, “I haven’t laughed like that since… I c-can’t actually remember. Huh.”
“W-well… I’m glad that I could help?” Naegi says.
“Oh, you’ve definitely helped me,” Sayaka says with a smile.
“Now that I’m already wet…do you guys want to swim a little?” Naegi asks.
“Swim?” Enoshima asks him blankly. “I didn’t come here to swim.”
“Really? Why did you come, then?” Naegi asks.
“…t-that doesn’t matter!” Enoshima insists while blushing(?).
“Well, I’m ready to swim!” Sayaka exclaims as she stands back up. “Let’s go, Naegi-kun!”
“Yeah, finally! I was wondering when you guys would swim!” Asahina exclaims from the pool. “We should race!”
“I don’t think that they’d be able to keep up with us, Asahina,” Ogami states from Asahina’s side.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that!” Sayaka yells. “It may not look like it, but I’ve built up a lot of muscle from dancing on stage!”
“Is that a challenge?” Asahina asks with excitement.
“Yeah, it is!” Sayaka exclaims as she dives into the pool.
“Alright! Let’s do this!” Asahina shouts.
…
Asahina beat Sayaka pretty easily, but she managed to hold her own.
…
Naegi smiles as he finishes drying off on the side of the pool. He just finished spending time with Sayaka, Enoshima, Asahina, Ogami, Kirigiri, and Celeste at the pool, even though Enoshima and Celeste didn’t actually swim. Fujisaki didn’t want to swim, and Fukawa… shut her door in Asahina’s face.
“I’m going to go change now, Maizono-san!” Naegi says.
“Okay! Don’t run off until I’m done too, though!” Sayaka says as she dries herself off.
“Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you!” Naegi confirms as he walks into the boys’ locker room. After he changes, he walks out of the locker room and into the initial pool room.
As he waits for Sayaka, he thinks to himself.
He was pretty worried after the issue with Togami earlier, if he’s being honest. Togami and Fukawa separated themselves from the group entirely… he wonders if they would change their minds if he talks to them?
Anyways, the good news is that the girls other than Fukawa seem to be doing okay, though! They’re all pretty friendly with each other, and even Celeste seems to tolerate all of them. But the boys…
Ishimaru and Owada don’t really like each other, but Kuwata seems to have that under control, so he isn’t that worried about that. Naegi’s far more worried about how angry Owada got with Togami than anything at this point. Owada actually tried to attack him earlier… and said that he wanted to kill him, too…
“Alright, Makoto! I’m done!” Sayaka says as she leaves the girls’ locker room, back in her normal clothing. Her hair’s still a little wet, though.
“Okay!” Naegi replies with a smile.
The two of them leave the initial pool room and decide to go check the storage room for board games, like they had originally planned.
As the two of them walk together, Naegi can’t help but smile. If he and the girls could all have a good day together… then surely everyone else can too, right?
Maybe he should get Asahina’s help to plan something for everyone tomorrow… but that’ll have to wait.
Sayaka wants to spend some more time with him right now, after all!